This is my most favourite ever sweet recipe. It’s sugary, rich, creamy, chocolatey and crunchy. Everything in one. Decadent and indulgent. Decadent Millionaire’s Shortbread! And you don’t need to be a millionaire to make it…

As can be seen, Jen and I indulged in some decadence with fresh coffee. It was a real treat. I will say though that as tempting as it was, we didn’t eat all of those. Promise! Just one slice each. Well, maybe two…

But why “Millionaire’s” shortbread? Well, from what I can glean from good old Google it’s simply the fact that it’s such a rich recipe. Hence “millionaire”. All that butter, sugar, caramel and milk chocolate. Yep, it’s not for those on a diet! ????.

Having said that, and as I thought when thinking of the right adjective to describe this wonderful sweet treasure, a little decadence now and again is surely allowed. Right?

Ok, so let’s indulge a little. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Decadent Millionaire’s Shortbread…

1. How to approach the recipe

There really are 3 distinct parts to this recipe. The shortbread, the caramel and the chocolate. What’s more, I strongly recommend making this millionaire shortbread recipe in this order. It’s critical to let each part cool and set before adding the next part. It’s only by doing this that the clear layers between shortbread, caramel and chocolate can be formed.

As always, there is a printable recipe at the end of this post and the ingredients measurements are listed there. This particular recipe makes 15 good sized slices of millionaire’s shortbread so just scale up or down depending on how many you want to make.

2. The shortbread

a) Gather the ingredients for the shortbread

Shortbread is so called because of the shortness of the pastry i.e. the dryness of it such that it crumbles up easily. It’s simple to make and all that’s needed is flour, butter, golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt.

b) Make the shortbread crumble

To make the shortbread, first, put the butter and sugar into a bowl. Make sure the butter is at room temperature.

Using an electric whisk if you have one, or a hand whisk and some elbow grease if you haven’t, whisk the sugar and butter together until it’s light and fluffy.

Now, add the flour and mix in to form a crumble like texture.

c) Prepare the baking tray

The baking tray needs to be lined with greaseproof baking paper. Make sure, however, that the baking paper overlaps the tray a reasonable amount. This will help with removing the millionaire’s shortbread from the tray when finished.

d) Form and bake the shortbread

First things first. Turn the oven on and preheat it to 190C / 170C Fan.

Now, and with the baking tray lined, tip the shortbread crumble into the tray.

Next, using either a wooden spoon or the side of a small glass spread the crumble to cover the full base of the baking tray and flatten the shortbread. Once flattened dock the shortbread all over with a fork.

Place this in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the shortbread starts to brown.

Now leave this to cool completely.

3. The caramel

a) Gather the ingredients for the caramel filling

For the caramel filling all that’s needed is golden caster sugar, condensed milk, maple syrup, butter, vanilla essence and a pinch of salt.

b) Make the caramel, but be careful…

Put all of these into a suitable sized saucepan and place on low heat. The ingredients need to mix and come to the boil. The caramel is ready when it starts to colour or, if you have a cooking thermometer, reaches 107C.

The key here is to keep stirring the pan all of the time. If the mixture is left the caramel will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. This will result in a caramel that is bitter and has many dark flecks into. Just keep stirring and checking the temperature.

c) Form the caramel layer

To form the caramel layer for the millionaire’s shortbread just tip the hot caramel on the cooled shortbread and roll the baking tray until the caramel covers all of the shortbread. Simple as that.

Again, leave this to cool completely.

4. The chocolate

a) Use good quality milk chocolate

It’s as simple as that. Don’t go for cheap cooking chocolate. Make sure it’s the stuff you would buy if you were going to eat it straight out of the packet. I have no affiliation whatsoever with Cadburys but their milk chocolate, for me, is reasonably priced and perfect for this millionaire’s shortbread recipe.

b) Melt the chocolate

Use a bain-mare to melt the chocolate. One of these can be made by simply boiling a little water in a small saucepan and melting the chocolate in a bowl over the pan.

c) A word on tempering chocolate

Melting the chocolate as described in part b) above is perfectly fine. However, using this method can result in a greyish tinge to the chocolate and whitish waves on the surface of the chocolate. This is purely cosmetic and does not detract from the taste at all.

However, if a silky and glossy finish is required then the chocolate can be tempered. This is simple but does require a kitchen thermometer.

To temper the chocolate simply melt 3/4 of the chocolate in the bain-marie to a temperature of 45C. Once at this temperature take the bowl and place it in one inch of cold water. Add the remaining chocolate and continuously stir until the temperature gets down to 30C. Just make sure no water splashes in the chocolate otherwise it will be ruined.

d) Add the chocolate layer

With the chocolate melted, tempered or not, pour it over the cooled caramel layer.

Now, roll the baking tray so the chocolate covers the caramel evenly.

Leave this to cool to room temperature and then place in the fridge for at least 2 hours and, preferably, overnight.

5. Slice the millionaire’s shortbread

With the millionaire’s shortbread properly chilled lift it from the baking tray, remove the baking paper and place it on a chopping board.

Using a ruler and a small knife score the top of the chocolate such that the shortbread slices are sized.

Next, heat the blade of a large kitchen knife by placing it in boiled water.

With the blade warm, wipe the water off and gently cut the shortbread.

Return the knife to water to warm up and repeat until all slices have been cut.

And that’s all there is to it. Luxurious and decadent millionaire’s shortbread made right in your own home. Very sweet. Not particularly good for you. But oh so moreish. It’s ok to spoil yourself once in a while so why not do it in the comfort of your own kitchen ????.

I do hope you enjoyed this post. If you’d like to be kept up to date with all new recipes (around 4-5 a week at present) then just subscribe to the newsletter at the top of the page or like our Facebook page. You can find this by clicking here… ▶.

As always, many thanks for reading and until next time… Steve.

6. Nutritional values

7. Printable recipe